All Recipes

2 strips bacon, cut into ¼” pieces
1-2 tablespoons oil
1-2 scallions or ½ onion, chopped
1 bunch turnips, roots chopped into bite size pieces, greens washed and chopped, tough stems discarded
¼ lb. mushrooms chopped (optional)
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in pot on stove to medium. Add bacon and scallion/onion. Saute until softened about 5 minutes. Add turnips, greens, optional mushrooms, and broth. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, and cook until turnips are tender about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is great with pasta or spread on a sandwich to spice it up!

• 2 cups arugula, washed and firmly packed
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 TBLS nuts of choice (pine nuts are traditional, but walnuts will work, too)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor except the cheeese.  Pulse until combined.  If you want to freeze it, do so now (and add the cheese after thawing).  If you want to eat it fresh, add the parmesan and pulse to combine.  Yum!

2-3 cups Lettuce leaves, torn into pieces
½-1 cup Arugula leaves, chopped
¼ cup Scallions, chopped

Toss the vegetables together in a large bowl. Add some chopped carrots or snap peas if you wish. Dress with one of the following salad dressings. Serves 2-4.

Basic Salad Dressing (cold): 4 TBSP Olive oil, 1 TBSP vinegar (we like cider vinegar), ½ TSP prepared mustard. Mix ingredients together and pour over greens.
Bacon Mushroom Dressing (warm): Fry 2-3 slices of bacon. Remove from skillet. Saute ¾ cup sliced mushrooms in the bacon fat until soft, 8-10 minutes. Pour mushrooms and bacon fat over the greens hot. Top with the bacon, crumbled, and some grated Parmesan cheese.

• 1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt
• 3 Tablespoons rice or cider vinegar
• Zest from one orange
• 1.5 pounds cooked beets
• 1 bag arugula, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste Spread chickpeas on baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper, 1 T olive oil, and ½ tsp coriander. Roast at 400 until crispy, about 30 min. Whisk together yogurt, 2 T olive oil, vinegar, orange zest, and 1 tsp coriander. Toss with beets, arugula and chickpeas.

1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 garlic scape
1-2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 scallions, sliced

Steam broccoli until just tender, but still a bit crunchy.  Drain and cool.  Combine the rest of the ingredients (except scallions & sesame seeds) into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour over broccoli and top with sesame seeds & scallions.  Toss and serve cool.

½ bunch salad turnips, sliced
1-2 garlic scapes,diced
¼ # snow peas, cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 scallions, chopped, separated into green tops and white stalks
1/4-1/2 TSP chili flakes

Heat 1-2 TBSP cooking oil over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet. Add the salad turnips, scapes, scallion stalks, peas, and chili flakes and cook until vegetables are just tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the scallion tops and cook a minute longer. Remove from heat and pour the following dressing over the veggies: 3-4 TBSP olive oil, 1 TBSP cider vinegar (or lemon juice), and 1 TBSP naturally fermented soy sauce. Serves 2-4.

1 Buttercup winter squash, cut in half with seeds scooped out
1 ¼ cups cooked rice
2 tbls butter
¾ cup onion, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium tart apple, diced
1 orange, sectioned and chopped
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
salt
1 tbls maple syrup (optional)
½ cup walnuts (or other nut of your choice), chopped
Plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Roast the squash in a baking pan, cut side down with 1/4” of water in the pan for 45-60 minutes until a fork easily pierces the skin and flesh. Remove from oven. Turn oven down to 350 F. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, apple, orange and spices and sauté for 5 minutes more. In a bowl, mix the rice and chopped nuts. Add the sauté and season to taste with salt and optional maple syrup. Spoon the mixture into the squash halves and return them to the oven (face up). Bake for 20-30 minutes until heated through. Serve topped with spoonfuls of yogurt.
 

• 1 pound chopped tomatoes
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 2+ TBLS fresh basil, chopped
• 1 TBLS olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1+ TBLS balsamic vinegar

Toss to combine all ingredients except balsamic vinegar. Arrange on serving plate. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over. Serve and enjoy! 

• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 2 avocados, chopped
• 4 TBLS cilantro or other herb like dill, parsley, basil, etc., chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBLS onion or scallion, minced
• 1 TBLS lemon juice
• 1 TBLS lime juice

Combine all ingredients and toss.  Sit for 1/2 hour before serving.

This is pronounced "Baba Ganoosh".  Just FYI!  Great as a dip for veggies or pita bread or chips or whatever you have on hand.  Or spread it on bread!  Delicious!

• 1 lb. eggplant
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 TBLS lemon juice, or more to taste
• 1/4 cup tahini, or to taste
• salt, pepper, and cayenne, to taste
• olive oil (optional)
• other spices like cumin, paprika, etc. to taste (optional)

Roast eggplant whole on tray in oven at 350-400 degrees until tender when a knife pierces through.  Remove from oven and cool.  Scoop out pulp and discard skin.  Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Check seasonings and add any optional ingredients as desired.  Drizzle the top with olive oil before serving.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is seriously good.  Leftovers are not good, but don't worry you'll eat it all up right away.  It is that good!  Cooking time depends on how thick your cabbage wedges are.  Mine were about 1" on the thick side and cooked in about 30 minutes.  Check it often to prevent burning.

Cabbage, cut into wedges (cores removed)
olive oil
salt and pepper
slices of thick bacon, cut into strips

Lay wedges on baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle on salt & pepper.  Lay bacon strips on cabbage.  Roast at 450 for 30-60+ minutes, flipping once or twice until browned.  Serve hot!

I put this under kale, but you can use any kind of greens you want in it. When we made it last we used it as a "clean out the fridge" recipe adding chopped radish greens, kale, spinach and chard. Really good as an appetizer or interesting veggie side!

• 10 cups loosely packed, finely sliced greens
• 3-4 tablespoons oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2-3 garlic scapes, minced
• ½ cup cilantro (or other fresh herb), chopped
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1-2 eggs

Sauté onion in oil until soft. Add scapes, cilantro, and cumin for 1 min. Add greens to wilt. Remove from heat. Cool 10 min. Add rest of ingredients & salt to taste. Form balls, place on baking sheet, and bake at 375 for 15-20 min.

These are delicious!  They're not as cripsy as french fries but the combo of the sweetness of the rutabaga and the spices makes you wish you made a double batch!  You can also play with the spices, trying other combos like rosemary, salt and pepper, or curry-themed.  I think that anyway you do these they'd be really good!

Rutabaga, peeled and cut into ‘fries’/spears
Olive oil
2-3 tablespoons cornmeal (or flour)
Pinch (+ or -) each of cumin, oregano, cayenne, paprika, salt & pepper (to taste)

Toss rutabaga with oil, cornmeal and spices.  Lay single layer on baking sheet leaving a little room between each.  Bake at 400-425 until cooked through and browned, 30+ min, tossing occasionally for evenness.

2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut in half lengthwise
3 Tbls butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbls parsley, minced
¾ cup cooked rice
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ cup cheese of your choice, grated
1 egg yolk
2 Tbls lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in  skillet and add the garlic, parsley, rice, salt and pepper and sauté for 5 min. Remove from heat, stir in ½ cup cheese, egg yolk, lemon juice and fill cucumber cavities with mixture, sprinkling the remaining ¼ cup cheese on top. Bake in casserole for 25-30 min.

This super sweat seasonal dressing is perfect for peppery fall/winter greens like arugula!  Add more or less oil as desired based on texture as well as optional sweetener if desired as well.  But I have to say that ours was plenty sweet without it!

• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2-4 TBLS balsamic vinegar (to taste)
• 1 TBLS minced onion
• 1 TBLS honey or maple syrup (optional)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 - 1 cup olive oil
• salt to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor except oil.  Process until smooth.  Add oil in increments while processing until correct texture is achieved.  Adjust flavors.  Store in the fridge.

Adapted from www.theironyou.com.  Since we grow the Oriental Eggplant, aka the long skinny eggplant, I suggest two options of slicing it.  Rounds are more numerous and smaller where as lengthwise strips might be easier to handle on the grill.  You choose whatever way you want to cut it!

• 1 large eggplant or multiple medium eggplants, either cut on the round or lengthwise in strips, 1/4 inch thick
• 6 TBLS olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 TBLS balsamic vinegar
• red chili flakes (optional)
• salt
• pepper to taste

Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and let stand in a colander for about 30 minutes to draw moisture out.  Rinse to remove most of the salt, pat dry with paper towels. Combine olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, chili (if using), salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Add eggplant and marinate for at least 15 minutes.  Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium-high (if you’re using an outdoor grill lightly oil the grill grates) and Grill eggplant slices for approximately 2 to 3 minutes a side (or more), or until you get good grill marks.  Serve hot!

• 6 medium beets (2 bunches, or about 3-1/2 pounds), peeled and chopped into 1 ½” chunks
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup inexpensive balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toss chopped beets with olive oil and salt and put on baking sheet (lined with foil or parchment paper if desired). Roast at 400 for 45 to 60 minutes, turning once midway through, until the beets are tender when pierced. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar and maple syrup in a small, shallow skillet. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is just slightly thickened and lightly coats the back of a metal spoon. It should be reduced by about half (or to about 3 tablespoons). Pay close attention and be sure not to over-reduce it; it goes from sweet and syrupy to burnt and hard very quickly. Toss the glaze with the roasted beets. Serve hot or cold.
 

• 1.5 lbs turnips, thinly sliced
• 4 TBLS butter
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add turnips and stir to coat. Add water, cover the pan, and turn heat down to maintain a simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove lid, add balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 more minutes until vinegar forms a thick saucy glaze on the turnips. Serve hot.

• ¾ cup Medjool dates, pitted & chopped
• ½ cup boiling water
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 2 large eggs, room temp.
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 large over ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup parsnips, grated

Soak dates in boiling water for 15 min. Blend into paste in food processor. Blend in butter, eggs, vanilla until well combined. Mix date mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in bananas and parsnips. Bake at 350 degrees in greased loaf pan until done, about 50-65 min. 

Beets, washed

Put beets in pot large enough to cover with water.  Bring to boil.  Simmer until knife easily pierces through the beets.  Drain.  Let cool until not too hot to handle.  Literally slip the skins off of each beet.  To store: put in sealed container in fridge.

Options for what to do with these gems:
1.  Cold beet salad:  Chill beets.  Cube.  Top with vinaigrette dressing.  Add optional goat cheese, other cheese, nuts, red onion, herbs, etc.

2.  Breakfast hash:  Chill beets.  Cube.  Sauté thinly sliced onions until tender.  Add beets and sauté until browning and warmed through.  Add optional leftover beef roast, bacon, fried egg, etc.

3.  Simple warm beets:  Slice while warm, add butter, salt, pepper.

As indicated below there are unlimited variations to this recipe.  Most recently we've been using beets and feta cheese with occassional chopped pecans.  Give it a try!

Beets, whole
scallions (or onion), minced
nuts or seeds of choice, chopped
grated or chopped cheese, optional
fresh herb, chopped, optional
oil and vinegar dressing
salt and pepper to taste

Boil beets whole until knife pierces through easily.  Drain, cool, slip skins off.  Refrigerate until ready to make salad (optional).  Chop beets and combine with scallions and optional ingredients.  Pour over dressing of 4 TBLS oil and 1 TBLS vinegar.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve or refrigerate.

I consider this recipe to be a basic formula to which you can add anything to dress it up!  I've listed some ideas below and get creative adding your own!  Let me know if you come up with a good one 😉

1 bunch of leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly
½ to 1 head cabbage, cored and shredded
2-4+ TBLS butter
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
optional: crumbled bacon, blue cheese, minced apple, ground cumin and/or other dried/fresh herbs to taste

Bring large pot of water to boil.  Add leeks and cabbage and bring to boil.  Simmer 3 minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse in cold water.  Drain again.  Heat butter in large skillet on medium.  Sauté garlic briefly, stirring.  Add cabbage, leeks, & optional apple.  Sauté 5-10 minutes until tender and hot though.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and optional additional flavorings/ingredients.

• 1 TBLS olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved or quartered depending upon size
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 TBLS lemon juice

Place Brussels sprouts on baking sheet.  Ad olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and mix to coat.  Roast at 450-500 degrees for 15 minutes, or until crisp-tender when pierced.  Remove from oven and mix in lemon juice and zest.  Toss and serve hot.

This is a great way to decimate your kohlrabi in your fridge and have easy reheatable leftovers for meals later.  The roasting literally shrinks it down as it removes water and enhances flavor!

kohlrabi
onions, sliced (optional)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
dried or fresh herb, to taste (thyme is good here)

To prep the kohlrabi:
Cut 1-2 inches off of the butt end of your kohlrabi.  Discard.  Peel it using a knife or peeler all the way down to the white flesh beneath the green skin.  Get all of the green bits off that you can.  Chop into cubes (3/4" is good, as kohlrabi takes a while to roast).

To roast:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss kohlrabi cubes with optional onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, and optional dried or fresh herb.  Lay in single layer on baking sheet and roast until tender.  This may take as long as 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on size of cubes.  Stir a couple of times in between to prevent uneven roasting and/or sticking.

To serve:
Either serve hot right out of the oven or refrigerate for reheating (what I do often).  To reheat, heat skillet with butter on medium heat.  Add roasted kohlrabi cubes and saute until warmed through.  Enjoy!